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Silver Conversationalist

Wait, What Was That? Songs

Every now and then a song comes along with a normal word or phrase that is kind of unexpected , or that might  even be confusing.  Not talking about all of the famous "misheard" lyrics, but clear lyrics that make us go "Huh?". Two examples: "Darlin' Be Home Soon" is the only song I know to use the word "dawdle.". And when the Police sing that they will be  watching every breath I take I think that this stalker must be very sleep deprived.    Are there any words or lyrics that throw or threw you for a loop?

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Do Wah Diddy  -  Manfred Mann

 

What you write when you can't think of lyrics???

 

โ€œWhen the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.โ€ - Jimi Hendrix
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Porpoise Song (Monkees)

 

"Clicks, clacks, riding the backs of giraffes for laughs
S'alright for a while"

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"Stayin' Alive" by the BeeGees:

 

"We can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man"  ???!!!

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Saw the Grateful Dead in the last post, made me wonder again.  "Truckin'" makes sense, no mystery there.  However,  I have yet to know what a Doo-dah man is.  

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Didn't see that coming! Circling back to Paul Simon's Simple Desultory Phillipic, which I just learned about here on this thread.   I cannot say enough good things about it, but I will skip over to the 60s playlist thread to do my gushing.  For this one, I'll stay on topic and point out that "Desultory Phillipic" are not words that usually pop up in songs or titles. Bonus: I looked up the definition of Phillipic so now I know that too.

 

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@DMAFl wrote:

Didn't see that coming! Circling back to Paul Simon's Simple Desultory Phillipic, which I just learned about here on this thread.   I cannot say enough good things about it, but I will skip over to the 60s playlist thread to do my gushing.  For this one, I'll stay on topic and point out that "Desultory Phillipic" are not words that usually pop up in songs or titles. Bonus: I looked up the definition of Phillipic so now I know that too.

 


Me too. I've known about the song for a while because it was on an album that I wore out! I had no idea what the title meant, or even that the song had anything to do with Bob Dylan. It was just a song on the album with a catchy rhythm! 

 

 

โ€œWhen the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.โ€ - Jimi Hendrix
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I never heard of that song by Simon&Garfunkel. I just listened to it- such a great song! Not really sure what it's about, but a great song lol

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Iko Iko by Cyndi Lauper. Quite possibly the weirdest song I've ever heard. No idea what she's singing about!

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@BeatleloverKT wrote:

Iko Iko by Cyndi Lauper. Quite possibly the weirdest song I've ever heard. No idea what she's singing about!


Iko Iko  

 

 

"Gee the Moon Is Shining Bright" (1965) "Iko Iko" (/หˆaษชkoสŠ หˆaษชkoสŠ/) is a much-covered New Orleans song that tells of a parade collision between two tribes of Mardi Gras Indians and the traditional confrontation.:

(Wiki)

 

 

The Grateful Dead sang that song and it was covered far too many others to mention but originally a hit for The Dixie Cups, 1965.

 

You can listen to Justine Bateman sing it in the movie Satisfaction. Movie tanked but I enjoyed it.

 

The song's roots predate that release as you can hear here.

http://www.songswithearlierhistories.com/iko-iko/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Blinded By the Light

Bruce Springsteen
from Greetings From Asbury Park

 

And now in Zanzibar a shootin' star was ridin' in a side car hummin' a lunar tune
Yes, and the avatar said, "Blow the bar but first remove the cookie jar we're gonna teach those boys to laugh too soon"
And some kidnapped handicap was complainin' that he caught the clap from some mousetrap he bought last night
Well I unsnapped his skull cap, between his ears I saw a gap and figured he'd be all right

 

Don't know what it means but I know talent when I hear it. No one can teach people to write like that. All talent.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again-Dylan on something I'm sure.

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Swlabr by Cream. I mean really what does that mean?

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Don't Stop Til You Get Enough Michael Jackson 

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One after 909 by the Fab 4๏ธโƒฃ

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Baba O'Riley by The Who. Who named this great song that sings about a teenage wasteland?

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Louie Louie: The Kingsmen (The lyrics were "unintelligible at any speed", concluded the FBI after a lengthy obscenity investigation, but it was great to dance to and I can still recall some of the "dirty" lyrics which would not get by the AARP censors. Go to Louie Louie at Wikipedia for the great history of this tune).

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@1968Hoya46 wrote:

Louie Louie: The Kingsmen (The lyrics were "unintelligible at any speed", concluded the FBI after a lengthy obscenity investigation, but it was great to dance to and I can still recall some of the "dirty" lyrics which would not get by the AARP censors. Go to Louie Louie at Wikipedia for the great history of this tune).


Oh, that's a good one! 

 

 

โ€œWhen the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.โ€ - Jimi Hendrix
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Such a great story about such a great song! I can't help but think about "Animal House" one of my all time fav movies every time it plays! Never understood most of the lyrics, but who cares right, but clearly about 55 seconds in, the drummer apparently drops his drumstick and drops an audible F bomb! 

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Weird Al 's parody of Dylan's old "Subterranean Homesick Blues".  A whole song made up of palindromes, so it isn't supposed to make sense.  It is called "Bob" and the parody and the video are brilliant. 

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@DMAFl wrote:

Weird Al 's parody of Dylan's old "Subterranean Homesick Blues".  A whole song made up of palindromes, so it isn't supposed to make sense.  It is called "Bob" and the parody and the video are brilliant. 


In a similar vein, Paul Simon wrote this parody based on Dylan's writing style, focusing mainly on the same song. Simon and Dylan came on board with Columbia Records at about the same time, and Simon got really fed up with being compared to Dylan.

 

A Simple Desultory Philippic

I been Norman Mailered, Maxwell Taylored
I been John O'Hara'd, McNamara'd
I been Rolling Stoned and Beatled 'til I'm blind
I been Ayn Randed, nearly branded
Communist, 'cause I'm left-handed
That's the hand I use, well, never mind
I been Phil Spectored, resurrected
I been Lou Adlered, Barry Sadlered
Well, I paid all the dues I want to pay
And I learned the truth from Lenny Bruce
And all my wealth won't buy me health
So I smoke a pint of tea a day
I knew a man, his brain was so small
He couldn't think of nothing at all
Not the same as you and me
He doesn't dig poetry
He's so unhip that when you say Dylan
He thinks you're talking about Dylan Thomas
Whoever he was
The man ain't got no culture
But it's alright, ma, everybody must get stoned
I been Mick Jaggered and silver daggered
Andy Warhol, won't you please come home?
I been mother, father, aunt and uncled
Been Roy Haleed and Art Garfunkeled
I just discovered somebody's tapped my phone
Folk rock
I've lost my harmonica, Albert
 
 
โ€œWhen the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.โ€ - Jimi Hendrix
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I never heard of the Paul Simon song.  The lyrics are genius and the story behind it is great.  I am going to YouTube it tonight. I have got to hear this.  Wow, MaVolta!

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Simons song is perfect for this thread. Also perfect for the Media thread- just sayin'.......

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Being for the benefit of Mr. Kite! by the Fab 4๏ธโƒฃ

 

Lots of drugs during the writing of this one......

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How Bizarre. By OMC 

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Mayor of Simpleton by XTC. Have always liked this song and I understand it's meaning, but I don't understand "how to tell the weight of the sun" lol

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These Boots Are Made For Walking - Nancy Sinatra

 

You keep lyin' when you oughta be truthin'  

You keep samin' when you oughta be a'changin'

 

Ha! Guess we weren't supposed to notice, but everybody did! 

 

 

 

โ€œWhen the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.โ€ - Jimi Hendrix
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Old brown shoe by the Fab 4๏ธโƒฃ. A genius song by my fav group that I still don't understand!

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He Ain't Heavy by The Hollies uses the word "encumber "

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Money for Nothing - Dire Straits

 

He's singing a song about microwave ovens, a big box store? Huh? 

 

โ€œWhen the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.โ€ - Jimi Hendrix
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